On Monday 16 October 2017 the Council adopted the EU Annual Report on Human Rights And Democracy in the World in 2016.

2016 was a challenging year for human rights and democracy, with a shrinking space for civil society and complex humanitarian and political crises emerging. In this context, the European Union showed leadership and remained strongly committed to promote and protect human rights and democracy across the world.

OFID Quarterly examines the wellbeing, safety of children across the world

Vienna, Austria, August 2, 2017. “I like schnitzels, but some food, I don't like,” says 14 year-old Shokria, who is originally from Afghanistan. “I miss some special food from Afghanistan.” Shokria left her home when her father was killed and has been in Vienna for nearly two years. Her story is just one of many perspectives on child refugees examined by the July edition of the OFID Quarterly magazine, which is circulating as of today.

For at least 700 million children worldwide – and perhaps hundreds of millions more – childhood has ended too soon. The major reasons included poor health, confl ict, extreme violence, child marriage, early pregnancy, malnutrition, exclusion from education and child labor.

The Global Early Warning – Early Action (EWEA) report on food security and agriculture is developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The report is part of FAO’s EWEA system, which aims to translate forecasts and early warnings into anticipatory action.
EWEA enables FAO to act early before disasters have happened and to mitigate or even prevent their impact. By lessening damages to livelihoods and protecting assets and investments, FAO can help local livelihoods become more resilient to threats and crises.

When food prices spiked in 2008, the international price of basic food items peaked at unprecedented levels, bringing a wave of food riots in low-income countries. Subsequent price volatility had huge impacts on millions of people who struggled to feed their families nutritiously. Life in a Time of Food Price Volatility was a real-time investigation by IDS and Oxfam of the experiences of people on low and uncertain incomes as they made dramatic adjustments to their place in the global economy in the wake of the food and financial crises that began in 2007.

The impact of the 2015‒2016 El Niño weather phenomenon has been one of the most intense and widespread in the past one hundred years. The agriculture, food security and nutritional status of 60 million people around the globe is affected by El Niño-related droughts, floods and extreme hot and cold weather. While the El Niño itself has passed its peak and is now declining, its impact is still growing. Harvests in several parts of the world have already failed and are forecast to fail in other areas.

Christian Aid’s goal is to empower people to live with dignity, able to respond successfully to disasters, risks and opportunities. There are different types of risk, and building resilience supports individuals’ and communities’ capacity to anticipate, organise for and adapt to change.

The 2015-2016 El Niño has passed its peak but it remains strong and will continue to influence the global climate. It is expected to weaken in the coming months and fade away during the second quarter of 2016. The World Meteorological Organization states that models indicate a return to an El Niño neutral state during the second quarter of 2016. Meanwhile, strong El Niño conditions are quite likely through March-April. It is too early to predict if there will then be a swing to La Niña (the opposite of El Niño).

New study argues that to succeed, breed conservation efforts must empower women

Women livestock keepers worldwide must be recognized as the major actors in efforts to arrest the decline of indigenous breeds, crucial for rural food security and animal genetics, a new FAO study argues.

The aim of this document is to provide workshop participants with basic insights into the selected case studies. It has been prepared by the WFP Office for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction with WFP and partner staff in country offices.